Twelve Days
by Kittyclaw
Summary: OxA. Odd has twelve more days until Christmas, and with a little help from Ulrich devises the perfect gift for Aelita, leaving the unsuspecting girl wondering- Who is leaving all of these gifts for her across school?
1. On the First Day of Christmas

**Hello all, and welcome to my Christmas fic for 2008! This here is my entry for the holiday story contest on the Code Lyoko Forum Xana's Lair (links for which can be found in my profile. Contest ends January first and any winter holiday may be used, so if you would like to enter there's still plenty of time. Awards will be given for winners!). So, as the title implies, this fic is combining three things I love- OxA, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and obscure yet meaningful gifts. Hopefully you find the gifts fitting! And also, a big thank you to WeaponFanfic for beta reading for me! ****And without further ado, onto the story-**

* * *

It was Sunday at Kadic boarding school, the one day in the week that the students got to enjoy completely class free. Although he usually looked forward to this day off, today Ulrich was wishing that his teachers would surprise the school with a few Sunday classes. It wouldn't make for the most fun weekend ever, but at least it would get him away from Odd.

"Are you excited, Ulrich?" Odd shouted as he bounced up and down on his bed.

"Do you really need to do that?" Ulrich asked in response, burying his nose further into his book in an attempt to ignore his friend.

"Come on, Ulrich, get in the holiday spirit!" Odd said, bouncing up and then belly flopping down onto his mattress.

"You'll break your bed doing that," Ulrich warned. Odd sighed.

"You're such a scrooge, you know that?"

Ulrich grinned. "Bah-humbug."

"Ulrich," Odd whined, "Christmas is just twelve days away! You can't honestly tell me that you're not excited."

"Why should I be?" Ulrich asked. "I have to spend it here with you."

"Very funny," Odd said with a pout that quickly vanished. "So, what are you getting me for Christmas?"

"A lump of coal."

Odd stuck his tongue out. "What are you getting Jeremy?"

"Don't know yet," Ulrich answered, his attention back on his book.

"What about Aelita?"

"I don't know."

"Yumi?"

"Odd!"

"You can't get her me for Christmas!" Odd exclaimed. "Even thought I would make an amazing gift."

"I'm about to amazingly shove you out the window."

"Oh come on, Ulrich," Odd said, bouncing up from his bed and leaping over to join Ulrich on his. "You must at least know what you're getting Yumi!"

"Do you know what you're getting for Aelita?" Ulrich inquired. Odd thought for a moment then shook his head sadly. "Then I don't need to know what I'm getting for Yumi." Ulrich grinned to himself, proud of his snappy comeback, and waited for Odd to make his rebuttal. When the blonde failed to return a retort of his own, Ulrich looked up from his book to see his roommate staring forlornly at the floor.

"What now?" Ulrich asked when Odd sighed.

"I only have twelve days to pick out Aelita's gift!"

"So?" Ulrich asked, "That's plenty of time to get her a present."

"No it isn't!" Odd cried, falling back onto Ulrich's bed. "All the good gifts will have been bought already!"

"I have an idea," Ulrich said, suddenly grinning.

"Really?" Odd asked, his hopes rising.

"There's twelve days until Christmas, right?" Odd nodded. "Then get her a partridge in a pear tree!"

Half of Odd wanted to hit Ulrich. The other half wondered why he hadn't caught on to that himself. He chose to ignore them both.

"I can't get her a bird," Odd said. "She can't have pets at school." Ulrich pointed at Kiwi. Odd waved him off. "Also, I don't think she knows the song."

"Then don't get her all stuff from the song," Ulrich reasoned. "It's not like you can actually get her a fruit tree with a bird in it." Odd thought this over for a second or two, and then sat upright, a grin plastered across his face.

"Ulrich, my friend," he said, "You are a genius!"

And with that Odd vaulted up off of his friend's bed and out the door, leaving Ulrich sitting alone, wide eyed and slightly confused. He then smiled to himself.

"I am a genius, aren't I?" he said to himself. His smile then faltered. "But I still need a gift for Yumi!"

* * *

"Bye Yumi!" Aelita called to her friend as she stepped into her dorm, arms laden with bags. "See you tomorrow!" Pushing the door shut behind her, Aelita let her parcels drop onto her bed with a sigh. It felt good to know she'd finished all of her holiday shopping in one fell swoop. Now she would be able to take her time wrapping the gifts and writing up her cards for everyone. Oh how wonderful it felt to be on top of things.

Smiling to herself as she began mentally deciding on what color wrappings and bows she would use for each gift, Aelita went to drop down into her computer chair. Something glittery caught her eye and stopped her short.

"What's this?" she asked herself softly, reaching down to pick up the little gift wrapped box sitting on her chair. Checking the tag hanging from it she found it didn't contain the name of who had left the package, simply the words "Day one- Open me!" With a shrug, Aelita did as the card commanded; pulling off the box's large gold bow and shimmery green paper. Popping the cardboard box's lid open, she found something wrapped in green tissue paper. Slowly she tore that away also. Her eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline when her gift lay revealed in her hand.

"A…pear?"


	2. On the Second Day of Christmas

**And here comes day two! Thankyou to all my wonderful reviewers (you guys really are the best ever) and again to my beta Weapon. Read, enjoy, and as aways, let me know what you think!**

* * *

Odd crouched low, his hands and face pressed against the glass of the display case as he stared down at day two's gift. It was perfect! So perfect it was almost scary.

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the counter asked icily. She didn't seem very pleased to have a child's hands and face smearing marks across her case.

"Yes, can I get that one?" Odd asked, pointing to the object in question. The woman stared down at Odd a moment longer and then nodded. She figured she could handle the dirty glass if he was going to buy something.

"Anything else?" she asked as she retrieved Odd's purchase.

"N-" Odd started to say 'No', but then remembered that he still had three other friends to buy for. "Actually, yes," he decided. He pointed to another of the objects behind the glass. "Can I get that one, too?"

* * *

"A pear?" Yumi said, eyebrow cocked. "Someone got you a pear?" Aelita nodded. "What did you do with it?"

"I ate it," Aelita said. Now both of Yumi's eyebrows were raised.

"Aelita, have you never seen Snow White? You don't eat fruit from strangers!"

"Why not?" Aelita asked.

"Because it could be poisoned," Yumi stated matter of factly.

"I doubt it was poisoned," Aelita said, turning to head in the direction of her classroom. "If it had been, then wouldn't I be dead right now?"

"Or in a magical sleep."

"What?" Aelita asked.

Yumi shook her head. "You really haven't seen Snow White have you?" Aelita shook her head. "Alright, that's what we're doing on Christmas then," Yumi decided. "Introducing you to fairytales."

Aelita laughed. "Alright, then," she said, "we'll get it all planned out."

"Yes, we will," Yumi said. Aelita nodded.

"After class."

"If we have to," Yumi said, though her exasperated tone was undermined by her smile. "See you after class, Aelita!"

"Bye!" Aelita said as she waived her friend off. She turned and headed into her classroom, surprised to see Odd already sitting in his desk, pen and paper out. Ulrich was there too, although he didn't seem to be quite as thrilled to be there as his companion, if the small river of drool snaking its way away from where the brunet's head was buried in his arms was any indication.

"Good morning, Odd," Aelita said, giving her friend a small wave. "You're here early today."

"Of course!" Odd said, "I wouldn't want to miss a moment of science class!"

"Oh, I'm sure," Jeremy said, rolling his eyes as he joined Aelita at their shared table.

"It's true," Odd defended. "Isn't that right Ulrich?" Both Aelita and Jeremy looked at Ulrich. The student of the martial arts snored a little in response.

"Oh yes, he looks overjoyed to be here," Jeremy said, grinning as Aelita giggled beside him.

"Yeah, yeah," Odd said, waving a dismissive hand in Ulrich's direction. "Enough about him. What about you guys? Don't you think you should, uh, be getting your stuff out?"

"Why?" Aelita asked curiously.

"We don't need it just yet," Jeremy said. "Class hasn't started."

"But don't you want to be prepared?" Odd wheedled.

"I guess so," Aelita said with a shrug. As she turned to get her supplies from her bag, Jeremy flashed Odd a quick 'what are you up to?' glance. Odd just shrugged innocently. "Oh, look!" Aelita called, grabbing both boys' attentions.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked curiously, looking over at his friend. She showed him the white envelope she had just found in her bag. Written across its front were the words "Day two- open me!"

"I don't know what it is," Aelita said, "but I think it's from the same person who left me a gift last night."

"Last night?" Jeremy asked.

Aelita nodded. "Someone left a gift in my room last night. It was a pear."

"A pear huh?" Jeremy said, turning to look at Odd. The blonde shrugged at him and then elbowed Ulrich less then subtly in the side as Aelita started to open the envelope, dumping its contents out into her hand. It was a necklace composed of a charm hanging on a thin gold chain. The charm was of two white doves whose beaks touched.

"Aww, isn't it adorable?" Aelita cooed, showing Jeremy the necklace. The blonde nodded then turned to give Odd a flat look.

"Two doves?" he mouthed. "Seriously?"

Odd shrugged, motioning once more to the sleeping Ulrich as he mouthed back, "His idea, I swear."


	3. On the Third Day of Christmas

**And here comes day three! It's a few hours late (I forgot to update this morning) but I didn't forget about it completely. Enjoy!**

* * *

Odd wandered the aisles of the store, humming Christmas carols absently to himself as he perused the shelves, looking for something to use as gift number three. Stopping for a moment to stare curiously at a bunch of multipurpose blenders (and trying to think of something a blender would do other than blending), the blonde began to wonder if this gift thing had been a bad idea. Or at least that was what he thought until he reached the toy aisle.

"This!" he shouted, pouncing on one of the toys. "This is perfect!"

It was at that moment one of the store's employees decided to turn into the aisle. They paused at the sight of Odd, who was holding his find up over his head.

"Umm, do you need some help?" the employee asked, looking a little bewildered.

"Nope," Odd said with a grin before scurrying off. He paused at the end of the aisle however, snatching another toy off the end of the shelf before heading off to the cashier.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I wish I was, but I asked Ulrich and he told me that that's what Odd was trying to do."

"He's nuts," Yumi said, shaking her head. "Doesn't he think that Aelita might get freaked out by all of these gifts and tell someone? If Jim finds out that some kid is sneaking into a girl's dorm and leaving her gifts he'll flip."

"Well, at least Odd will have learned his lesson, right?" Jeremy said with a shrug.

Yumi laughed. "I doubt it. Although he might-"

"Shhh," Jeremy hissed suddenly. When Yumi quirked an eyebrow at him he motioned behind her. Turning, Yumi saw Aelita heading their way, Odd and Ulrich in tow. The group waved when they realized they'd been spotted, Aelita picking up her pace to reach her friends. Yumi noticed the necklace Jeremy had told her about bouncing around her neck.

"Hey Yumi!" Aelita called as she reached them. "Look what I found in my backpack yesterday morning!" She showed Yumi her necklace proudly.

"That's pretty Aelita," Yumi said, smiling at her friend. "Do you know who it's from?"

"No," Aelita said, giving her head a shake. "But I think it's from the same person who left me the pear on Sunday."

"Oh," Yumi said, exchanging a glance with Jeremy. "You know, Aelita, you should be careful with these gifts."

"I should?" Aelita said curiously. Yumi nodded, noticing the way Odd stiffened a little.

"You don't know who they're from," she said, "and you said that they were in your room and backpack right? What if they're from some pervert or a creep?"

Jeremy struggled to disguise his laughter as a sneeze while Ulrich had to turn away to hide his grin, silent laughter shaking his shoulders. Odd narrowed his eyes at Yumi dangerously. Aelita was oblivious to it all.

"A creep?" Aelita repeated, looking at her necklace.

"Don't listen to her Aelita," Odd said, stepping forward and looping an arm around her shoulders. "She's just jealous."

Yumi's fists clenched as she glared at the blonde while Ulrich and Jeremy leaned on one another, both looking like they might explode from all of their contained mirth.

"Besides," Odd continued, "I bet whoever it is got Jim to let them into your room so that they could leave the gifts. I doubt they're some sort of ninja stalker."

"Thanks, Odd," Aelita said, giving her friend a smile. "I don't think whoever is leaving me these gifts means any harm. I think it's actually kind of sweet. Now come on, guys," she said, heading for the doors to the gym. "If we don't hurry we're going to be late." Sighing, Yumi followed after her friend, leaving the boys behind while Odd gloated in his victory, Ulrich and Jeremy's laughter echoing behind her.

"When do you think my next gift will arrive?" Aelita asked as the pair entered the locker rooms to change out for gym.

"I don't know," Yumi said. "But don't get to excited," she warned, "you don't know that there will be a gift today." Aelita frowned for a moment, though it didn't last long.

"I think there will be," she said. She flashed Yumi a smile and then turned to her locker, twisting the knob to the combination lock. The locker clicked open and Aelita pulled the door aside. Her hands flew to her mouth and she emitted a happy squeal at what she found inside.

Sitting atop her folded gym clothes was a white gift bag, 'Day three- open me!' written on its side, its handles tied with curly green ribbon.

"How did he…?" Yumi whispered to herself as Aelita pulled the bag out of her locker and tugged it open.

"Look Yumi!" she shouted, pulling out the gift inside. Yumi's eyebrows rose when she saw it.

In Aelita's hands was a big brown stuffed chicken, which happened to be wearing a black beret, a plastic French flag gripped in its claws.

"It's adorable," Yumi said, smiling as Aelita hugged the new toy. Although she didn't quite agree with his methods, Yumi had to admit that Odd was sure being creative. However, she was curious as to how exactly he planned on fitting 'eight maids a milking' in Aelita's gym locker…


	4. On the Fourth Day of Christmas

**Before I go any further I must take a moment to thank and hug and love those of you who are leaving me such amazing reviews. All of you are so awesome it hurts. Also, a big thank you again to Weapon for his beta and also to RenaYumi, who provided the gift idea for this chapter. Love you all like air! And now, enough of my blather. On with the fic!**

* * *

"I am a genius," Odd muttered to himself, grinning as he reached into the tree branches just above his head. He then immediately crouched back down as the ladder below him gave a slight shake, as it did every time Odd tried to reach up into the tree. It was beginning to become a problem.

"Odd, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Odd responded, leaning over the edge of the ladder to look down and then clinging to it tightly when it swayed. Ulrich rolled his eyes, reaching out to steady the ladder.

"Thanks Ulrich!" Odd called.

"What are you doing up there?" Ulrich asked again. Odd grinned, reaching up to tie something to one of the tree's branches. "It's the middle of the night, you should be in bed."

"You'll see soon enough," the blonde answered mysteriously before adding, "Shouldn't you be asleep too?" Ulrich sighed, choosing to ignore the second part of Odd's question-even if he was standing there in his pajamas.

"This is part of that stupid gift thing you're doing for Aelita isn't it?"

"…No."

"Odd, you're going to get yourself into trouble doing this," Ulrich warned, "Jim is already knows that someone has been getting into Aelita's room. He's on the lookout."

"I can handle Jim, no sweat," Odd said, waving a dismissive hand as he tied something else into the tree.

"I'm sure you can," Ulrich drawled.

"I can," Odd assured him. He then announced, "All done!" and with that slid down to the bottom of the ladder, landing with a gymnast like flourish.

Ulrich looked less than amused. "Can I go now?" he asked flatly. Odd shrugged.

"Want to help me put away this ladder first?"

Ulrich just laughed as he walked away.

* * *

"So Aelita, anything from your secret admirer today?" Yumi asked, her voice lightly teasing as the two girls made their way towards the bench off to the side of the school's large courtyard- their usual hangout when classes finally came to an end for the day.

"No," Aelita said. Yumi thought she sensed the faintest hint of disappointment in her friend's voice.

"Did you check around for it?" Yumi questioned, curious as to where Odd might have hidden this day's lovely gift, whatever it was. She hoped she didn't sound too interested.

"A little bit," Aelita said, seemingly unworried by Yumi's questions, "though it's not like I tore my room apart to find anything."

Which wasn't entirely true. While she hadn't turned drawers inside out and cut open the mattress, Aelita had been sure to check all of the obvious places for hidden trinkets before leaving for class that morning.

"Oh well," Yumi said with a light shrug as the pair reached their bench, "I'm sure if you're meant to get a gift today it will show up soon enough."

"You think so?" Aelita asked, failing to hide the excitement in her voice. Yumi couldn't help but smile and nod.

"Talking about Aelita's stalker?" Ulrich asked curiously as the girls arrived. Yumi elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Oh, er, I mean Aelita's gift giver?" Ulrich gave Yumi a cautious look. She nodded in approval.

"Yes," Aelita said, smiling at her friend's antics. "I haven't gotten any gifts from him today, but Yumi thinks I'll get one soon."

"Yeah, me too," Ulrich said. "What about you Jeremy?"

"Hmm?" Jeremy hummed, looking up from a book he was reading. "Oh, yeah, I-" A faint buzzing sound had the blonde cutting himself short.

"Is that your phone?" Ulrich asked curiously. Jeremy nodded, freeing the device from his pocket.

"It's a text message," he said, hitting a button to open the message.

"Who's it from?" Aelita asked curiously.

"It's from…uh," Jeremy trailed off as he read. "From my, uh, project partner." Ulrich got the faint feeling that this "project partner" happened to be a blonde who wore too much purple.

"A project?" Aelita asked curiously. "For what class?"

"Uh," Jeremy said, looking to Yumi and Ulrich for help. Now Ulrich was sure that Jeremy's caller was no project partner.

"Chess club," he supplied to help his friend. Yumi gave him an 'are you serious' look. Jeremy just went along with it, glad to have the excuse.

"Yes, we have a project due in the Chess club," he said, though his attention had returned to his cell phone as he typed out an answer to the message. "And my partner is very annoying," he added just loud enough for Ulrich, who was standing closest, to hear. The brunet laughed.

"Sorry about the interruption," Jeremy said once his message was sent and his cell phone was tucked away once more. "What were we talking about again?"

"Aelita's admirer," Yumi told him. "And about how he must have left her a gift-Jeremy, is that your phone again?"

"No," Jeremy said.

"It's mine," Aelita said, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Oh, I have a text message now."

"Who's it from?" Ulrich asked curiously.

"I'm…not sure," Aelita said. "I don't recognize the number."

"What does it say?" Yumi asked.

"Day four," Aelita read, "Look up."

"Look up?"

Aelita shrugged, and looked up into the branches of the tree above her. When she did the quartet of toy cell phones hanging among the leaves, each decorated with a pair of wings, began to ring with a Christmas carol.

"They're adorable!" Aelita laughed, grinning as the little phones continued to sing their songs. Meanwhile the other three teens exchanged bemused looks.

"What are they?" Jeremy mouthed. Ulrich sighed and mouthed back.

"Four calling birds."


	5. On the Fifth Day of Christmas

**My most favorite chapter yet, it's time for the fifth day of Christmas! Sorry about the huge delay in getting this up. My internet decided to be a massive fail and die for a few hours. However I was able to revive it, and now I bring you this- Twelve Days, Day Five!**

* * *

"Odd, I know that I told you the phone thing was ridiculous, but this? Is plain stupid."

"Come on Ulrich," Odd said, pouting at his friend. "This one is brilliant!"

"Brilliant might be too strong a word."

"Nonsense! But this gift won't work out if you don't help me with it."

Ulrich sighed. He really didn't want to get involved in Odd's silly little gift project with Aelita. It wasn't any of his business, and since it was only a matter of time before Odd was caught sneaking into Aelita's dorm, Ulrich wanted to do nothing that might tie him to the blonde.

Of course, saying no meant that he was stuck with a roommate who would probably hold a grudge. And as Ulrich knew all too well, Odd had connections that tended to bode ill for anyone the blonde was unhappy with (such as the school wide newspaper, for example).

"Alright, fine," Ulrich said, sighing in defeat. "What do you want me to do?"

Odd grinned. It was not a sight that reassured Ulrich. Without him realizing it Ulrich's thoughts showed up on his face, causing Odd to sigh.

"It's nothing big," Odd said, waving his hand. "All I need you to do is distract Aelita, okay?"

"Why?" Ulrich asked suspiciously. "So you can get into her room?"

"Nope," Odd said. "I want you to keep her here outside for a minute while I go ahead into the cafeteria."

"…Why?" Ulrich asked again.

"I need to get her gift ready, and I can't have her in the cafeteria while I do."

"Odd, I'm sure I don't really want to know, but I have to ask. What gift could you possibly be getting for Aelita that you need time alone in the cafeteria for?"

Odd grinned again.

"You'll see!"

Before Ulrich could questions his friend further, Odd darted off into the cafeteria, leaving Ulrich standing alone at the group's usually bench hang out, convinced that agreeing to help Odd out was entierly not worth it. He wasn't given much time to brood however before a shout from behind caught his attention. Spinning around, Ulrich saw Aelita, Yumi, and Jeremy heading his way. Smiling, he waved them over.

"Wow, you got here fast," Yumi said as she approached.

"He should have, considering how fast he and Odd left math class today," Jeremy said. "The two of you ran out of there like the room was on fire."

"Hey, it was all Odd's idea," Ulrich said defensively. "I was just dragged along for the ride."

"Speaking of Odd," Aelita said, looking around, "Where is he?"

"Uh…" Ulrich groaned mentally. Couldn't Odd at least have given him something to say before running off? "He needed to, umm, talk to a teacher."

"Really?" Aelita asked. "About what?"

"Umm, a grade issue," Ulrich supplied, struggling to invent a story.

"I didn't know Odd talked to his teachers about his grades," Aelita said in surprise. "What teacher did he go talk to?"

"Er," Ulrich fumbled, looking to Yumi and Jeremy for support. He could tell from their looks that unlike their more naive friend, they were well aware that Odd wasn't talking to a teacher nor doing anything remotely grade related. He could also tell from their looks that they were taking great pleasure in watching him stutter and were not about to jump in and help out anytime soon. Thankfully, the ringing of his cell phone chose that moment to interject. Holding up his finger, Ulrich rummaged about his pockets for his phone.

"Hello?" he said, answering and holding it to his ear.

"_Okay Ulrich, she can come in now."_

"Alright," Ulrich said, then hung up. "Odd's in the cafeteria."

"I thought he was talking to a teacher," Aelita said in confusion.

"He was," Ulrich said, once more scrambling for an excuse. "But he, uh, he finished talking to the teacher and went to the cafeteria. We missed him because we were talking." Ulrich nodded with his words, feeling rather proud of his story. The sounds of Yumi and Jeremy stifling giggles ruined the moment.

"Alright then," Aelita said, ever trusting of her friends. "I guess we should go in now."

"Sounds good to me," Yumi said, "I'm starving." Nodding in agreement, the group made their way into the cafeteria, joining into the line of fellow students picking up today's lunch, something with fish and a funny looking yellow vegetable that no one seemed able to identify.

"Hello," Aelita greeted Rosa cheerily as she reached the lunch woman, pushing her tray forward to receive her portion of the day's meal. The lunch lady smiled, ladling some food onto the tray.

"Hello dear," she said, smiling at the pink haired girl. "Don't leave just yet, I have something extra for you today. I secret admirer left it for you!"

Excitement swelled in Aelita's chest as Rosa pulled a white Styrofoam box from under the counter and set it on the edge of her tray.

"Enjoy!" she said, and then turned to dish out food to the next student.

"Oooh," Yumi cooed, looking over at the box, across the top of which was written "Day five- open me!"

"Are you going to open it?" Ulrich asked from Aelita's other side. The girl nodded, grinning as she gripped the lid of the box and popped it open. The grin fell at what she found inside.

"What are they?" she asked curiously, staring at her latest gift. Beside her Ulrich resisted the urge to smack his forehead.

"Onion rings," he said with a sigh. "Five golden onion rings."


	6. On the Sixth Day of Christmas

**I'm so sorry about this being two days late! A combination of computer problems, work I needed to do, and general late night lazies ended up with a nice big delay on this. But I have all of the chapters ready, and I'll be posting seven and eight later in the day. And to all of my reviews who I didn't get a chance to respond to THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU ALL. And now, on to the fic.**

* * *

Quietly as he could, Odd crept along the hallway of the girl's dorms, red wrapped package in his arms. Having used the clever excuse of needing to go see the nurse, the blonde had slipped away from class to go and deliver his latest Christmas gift to Aelita's room. Glancing around a corner, he checked for any approaching gym teachers possibly heading his way. Seeing none, he slunk around the corner, package clutched tightly to his chest. He didn't have much farther to go!

The sounds of footsteps coming from the hallway he had just left caused Odd to stop in his tracks. They were accompanied by someone's whistling. Odd only knew one person who whistled so off key.

Jim was coming.

Odd felt a rush of panic. If Jim caught him wandering the girls dorm when he was supposed to be in class, and caught him carrying a little lock picking kit, he was would be back home before he even realized he'd been expelled.

If that happened, there would be no one left to deliver Aelita's gifts! Now that just couldn't happen.

And so, Odd, knowing he needed to get hidden quick, ducked through the first open door he could find.

He soon decided that it might have just been better to take his chances with Jim. One would think that few things would faze Odd, the risk taking child who spent most of his free time in the thick of a virtual war. But being a warrior did not change two simple facts-

One, Odd was still a young boy.

Two, he had just found himself in the girls bathroom.

Groaning, Odd, spun about and was just preparing to exit the unfriendly territory when he caught site of Jim's shadow growing closer along the floor. With a quiet curse Odd spun back around and, after a moment's hesitation, dove into one of the stalls.

As he sat, waiting uncomfortably for the danger to pass, Odd mentally prayed that all of this was worth it.

* * *

While usually Aelita worked hard to be the most diligent student in class, today found her staring out the window, unable to focus her attention on the things her math teacher was trying to teach. Her mind was on the gifts she had been finding scattered about the school lately. They didn't seem to have any real point to them, nor were they related in any way that she could see. It was so strange.

Fingering the necklace that hung across her chest, Aelita's mind shifted to a new issue- who was it leaving her all of these strange gifts? She knew that there were a good number of boys in the school crushing on her right now, but none of them seemed like possible candidates. As far as she was aware, not a one of them knew where her room was. Originally her suspicions had pointed towards Jeremy, but as the days went on Aelita had come to the conclusion that it wasn't the blonde at work. She didn't think he would condone, let alone partake in, breaking into girls rooms to leave gifts.

The bell's ringing broke Aelita's train of thought, and after a moment of sitting in her seat looking surprised, she gathered her things and joined her fellow classmates as they surged into the hall, happy to finally be out of class for the day.

Deciding to go and put away her things before meeting up with her friends, Aelita turned in the direction of the dorms. She passed Odd as she entered the building and said a quick hello, assuming by the fact that Odd didn't have a backpack that he must have been in the dorms for the same reason as her.

After taking the stairs up to her floor, Aelita pulled out her key as she reached her door, unlocking it and heading inside. As she went to set her bag down beside her computer, glint of red caught her attention. Turning her head, she noticed a red wrapped gift sitting on her pillow. Dropping her bag, she chewed her lip in excitement as she headed over to open the new gift.

Attached to the gift was a note, which read, as Aelita suspected, "Day six- open me!" Grinning, Aelita tore away the glittery paper to reveal a white box of thin cardboard. Lifting the box's lid, Aelita peered inside.

Sitting in the box, in a nest of golden tissue paper, where six large eggs, each a different color and topped with a small gold bow. Lifting one of them from the box, Aelita turned it over in her hand. It was made of some sort of smooth, cool stone and colored a vibrant magenta. Aelita thought it was gorgeous. But even so, there still the curiosity from earlier lurking in her mind.

"Who would get me eggs?"


	7. On the Seventh Day of Christmas

**I just can't wait any longer to post it. And so, here it is (finally)- chapter seven! Enjoy :)**

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Once more Odd found himself wandering the isles of the craft store, searching for Aelita's next ingenious gift. Odd wasn't yet sure exactly what it was he wanted to get Aelita for this day, but he figured that, as with many of the other days, if he just looked long enough then a perfect gift would show its self.

Also, he was hoping that as he searched, gifts for his other friends would also appear.

"There has to be something here," Odd muttered to himself as he rounded a corner, eyes darting around the shelves, which held an eclectic assortment of things, from little teddy bears to fake flowers to ribbons and beads. Odd found it both interesting and a tad intimidating. But even with this mishmash of everything Odd could possibly imagine, after twenty minutes of shopping he still had yet to find what it was he wanted.

That is, until he reached the bath isle.

As soon as he saw it he knew that it was perfect, exactly what he needed for his next gift. Grinning happily at his success, Odd chucked his find into the basket he was carrying with him and then continued on his way. It wasn't long before he found something else perfect for Aelita's gift, the perfect thing to accent his brilliant new idea. And so, with these two things in hand, Odd skipped off towards the register to pay.

Just before he reached the register he noticed a stand filled with bottles of paint. Grinning as another idea came to him, Odd grabbed a bottle of red paint and chucked it into his basket as well.

Three friends down, just one to go.

* * *

It was late when Aelita finally returned to her room. After Saturday's session of shortened classes she and Yumi had gone together to Yumi's house, where they planned to wrap their gifts together. She had only planned to stay a few hours, but she and Yumi were quickly distracted from their wrapping of gifts by a long overdue girl chat and before Aelita realized it, it was time for dinner. The Ishiyamas would not hear of Aelita hurrying back to school for dinner, and had her stay with them.

By the time everyone was done eating Aelita needed to rush back to school to get there before she broke curfew, Yumi running back to the school with her and both girls laughing and continuing to chat the whole way.

In all of the excitement of the day Aelita hadn't gotten any of her homework finished, and was thinking about what all she would have to do tomorrow as she reached her room, fishing her key out of her pocket to unlock the door.

Pushing it open Aelita forwent flipping on the light, instead using the light from the window to make it over to her computer, Sitting down with a sigh she checked her email and then, after seeing nothing of importance, stood up to gather her things for the shower.

As she headed for the drawer under her bed, where she kept her toiletries, Aelita noticed a glint from the corner of her eye. It had come from her vanity.

"What was that?" she whispered to herself. A frown forming on her face, Aelita flipped on the light.

Sitting on her vanity was a little display that someone had set up while she was gone. The entirety of the vanity's top was covered in a layer of blue glass pieces, from which a little sign stuck up, which read "Day seven- enjoy!" Scattered across the layer of glass were little yellow rubber duckies. Seven little rubber duckies.

"That's…odd," Aelita said, giving the display a curious look. Figuring she could come back to puzzle over it a little more, Aelita gathered her things for the shower and headed off to the bathroom. Once there she quickly claimed a stall and began setting her things out on the stall's small shelf. After pulling off her clothes and setting them aside as well, Aelita turned on the water, smiling happily as it cascaded down. Aelita let the warm water soak her for a few minutes before grabbing her soap. As she did, she heard someone else enter the bathroom. They were singing something. Aelita paused to listen to the words.

"-seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings-"

Aelita froze. Those things sounded somewhat familiar.

"-calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves-"

Aelita's hand rose to her necklace.

"-and a partridge in a pear tree!"

Standing still, no longer listening as the girl continued on to the next line of her song, Aelita's mind was churning, processing all of the gifts she had received lately. Seven rubber duckies, who were on blue glass, six stone eggs, five onion rings- Ulrich had even called them "golden onion rings"- four cell phones with wings, a stuffed chicken with a French flag, a necklace with two doves, and a pear.

Well, at least now Aelita knew what the purpose of the gifts was.

Now all she needed to know was where they were coming from.


	8. On the Eighth Day of Christmas

**Finally here it is, chapter eight! 'crowd cheers' and now I am back on track. Let's hope I can keep it this way.**

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That morning, Aelita had woken up with a mission. She was going to figure out who it was leaving her all of these gifts.

After some careful thought last night, she had come to the conclusion that it was one of her friends doing it, so either Odd, Ulrich, or Jeremy were at work. She had hoped that today she would be able to spend all day keeping track of the boys to see who it was sneaking off to leave her gifts. But that plan when out the window when at breakfast and announcement came over the PA system, alerting the student body that, due to exams being so close at hand, the school would be holding special study classes today. They would only be half day classes, like Saturday, so the students would still have the afternoon off.

It totally ruined Aelita's plan. Sure, once classes were over she would be able to follow the boys to her heart's content, but by then it would probably be too late since, as luck would have it, there was a time when all of the boys were out of her site during class. She and Jeremy were in a different math class than Odd and Ulrich, so both boys would have the whole class period to sneak off and place her gifts. And Jeremy and Odd were both taking English while she was in German with Ulrich, so that was Jeremy's chance to scurry off.

Aelita figured she would just have to hope that the boys weren't allowed out of class during the study time, and that after class she would be able to watch them all like a hawk. But again, it would have to wait, and so for now Aelita trudged off to go spend the day preparing for exams.

She found herself only half listening in her classes, accepting all of the handouts and worksheets and last minute notes without really registering any of it. Her mind was on other matters.

The night before she had looked up the song that girl had been singing, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and had found what today's gift was supposed to be- Eight maids a milking. She was extremely curious as to what it was her gift giver had planned for that. She really hoped she wasn't going to get back to her room to find a cow sitting on her bed.

* * *

"I think she's getting suspicious."

"What?" Ulrich asked, turning to look at Odd.

"I think Aelita is starting to get suspicious," Odd said. "Didn't you see the way she was looking at us at breakfast?"

"Not really," Ulrich said, copying down some notes. "I was more interested in looking at my food than staring at Aelita."

"You mean looking at Yumi," Odd teased.

"Don't make me shove you out of your chair," Ulrich threatened.

"Like you would," Odd said. The look Ulrich tossed him had Odd quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, I think Aelita thinks it's either one of us or Jeremy leaving the gifts."

"What?" Ulrich asked, looking shocked. "She thinks I'm involved in this?"

"Ulrich, that's not the point," Odd grumbled. Ulrich grinned.

"Oh right, we were talking about your problems." Odd stuck out his tongue.

"Anyway," he said, "If she starts getting suspicious, it's going to be harder for me to leave my gifts for her."

"Speaking of leaving gifts," Ulrich said, "Aren't you supposed to be doing that right now before we get to French?"

"Oh crud," Odd hissed, gathering up his things and cramming them into his bag, his hand shooting up into the air as he thought of his excuse for getting out of class this time.

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Aelita all but ran into the dorm building, taking the stairs two at a time as she did. There was no way she was going to be away from the boys any longer then she needed to. Hurrying down the hall, Aelita almost crashed into her door when she reached it, fumbling with her key a few times before finally getting it in the slot. She threw the door open, tossing her bag into her bed and feeling triumphant. The feeling vanished quickly when she looked down on her floor.

Sitting there waiting for her, each topped with a little red bow, where eight bottles of milk.


	9. On the Ni, er Tenth Day of Christmas

**Hey guys. I know you're all probably thinking "UGH YOU'RE LATE AGAIN!" Have no fear, this time I did it on purpose! Well, it's posted later in the day than I would have liked, but today was the day for it's arrival. That's because I just couldn't get myself to break this gift into two seperate chapters- because if I had, then day nine would have been a long one and day ten would have been a good...four paragraphs. So here you have both days nine AND ten!**

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"These are the most perfect gifts ever," Odd muttered to himself as he walked through the store, eyes down on the two bagged boxes in his arms. He had seen the items in a catalogue back when he'd first started this little gift venture, and he had immediately ordered them. He had been a little miffed that they had come in a day late, but he figured it didn't matter too much. At least he had them in time for today. He just hoped that Aelita would like-

"Hello Odd!"

Speak of the warrior. Odd quickly tucked his two boxes into his coat, thankful that the plastic bags helped disguise their shape, and then turned around to greet his pink haired friend. "Hey Aelita, what are you doing here?" he asked, eyes finding the bag for the clothing store they were both in hanging from Aelita's arm. "Christmas shopping?"

"Sort of," Aelita said with a smile. "I needed to exchange a size. You?"

"Just getting a last minute gift," Odd said. "I don't want to show up on Thursday a gift short." Aelita laughed.

"That's true. It's not much of a gift exchange without gifts."

This year, since none of the gang was going to be away from the school for Christmas, the group had chosen to get together Christmas day in Ulrich and Odd's dorm and exchange their gifts then. They were all excited about it, and had begun preparations two weeks earlier (they needed to stock pile food so that Jim wouldn't get suspicious of the party worthy amount of groceries that were going to appear in the boys' room).

"Speaking of gift buying," Aelita said suddenly, "You know who else I saw in the store today?"

"Who?" Odd asked.

"Everyone," Aelita answered. "I passed Jeremy when I was coming in and I saw Yumi at the counter, Ulrich was looking through a rack and now here you are."

"We must be stalking you," Odd said jokingly. He noticed Aelita's expression fall ever so slightly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Aelita said, immediately brightening back up. She motioned to the bag she was carrying. "I'd better get this back to my room and wrap it." Giving Odd a final smile she headed past him and towards the exit. Odd waited until she was all the way outside before pulling his gift from the cover of his coat.

"She must think she isn't getting any more gifts," the blonde said to himself as he wandered into the racks of shirts and sweaters. "Oh well, tonight will change that. But first, Jeremy needs a gift." And with that Odd delved into the racks of sweaters, trying to find one he thought the blonde might like.

As he was digging through one side of a circular rack which held a red turtle necks, Odd noticed a familiar mess of brown hair sticking up from the other side of the rack.

"Hey, Ulrich!"

The head of Odd's roommate popped up from behind the sweater rack like a gopher from a hole, the brunet scowling at first, but then smiling when he caught sight of Odd. "Hey," he said, "Christmas shopping?" Odd nodded.

"You?"

"Same," Ulrich said. He glanced down at the rack of sweaters. "Well, I'm going to get going now."

"Me too," Odd said.

The pair continued to stare at one another for a few more seconds before scurrying off in different directions. However Odd hadn't gone far before he ducked down behind a shelf and crept back over to the sweater rack, grabbing one of the garments before hurrying off.

Unfortunately, do to his stealth, Odd missed seeing Ulrich as he too nabbed a one of the red sweaters.

* * *

Aelita sighed, having finished a sweep of her room, checking for any presents she might have missed. She had found nothing the day before that looked like dancing ladies, nor had she today found any leaping lords. It made her worry that her mysterious gift giver had not been one of her friends after all, but had caught on to her as she worked to catch them and were therefore scared off. Sighing one more time Aelita left her room, going early so as to meet up with Jeremy and ask him some questions about their math work before heading off to eat.

Dinner was uneventful, and neither Ulrich or Odd vanished off during the meal, leaving Aelita sure that neither one was the gift leaving culprit. Either way, when she got back to her room she would have one more look. If nothing turned up then she would assume the gift giver had vanished, and that was that.

After returning to her dorm Aelita knelt down to open the drawer under her bed to search out her toiletries before looking around and then heading for the shower. When she did, she caught site of two wooden boxes sitting atop her neatly folded sleep garments. Suddenly flooded with excitement, Aelita fumbled the boxes out and set them on her bed. Taking a deep breath, she opened the first of the two.

As the lid lifted a small carved ballerina painted in delicate shades of pink and white emerged and slowly began to spin. Accompanying the beautiful little dancer was music.

Some not so beautiful music.

Wrinkling her nose at the discordant sound of high notes, Aelita shut the box and turned to the next one, opening it warily. From inside this box came a carved man in a red and white ensemble-Aelita was instantly reminded of the nutcracker in Jim's office-and as with the first box, more music.

More not so harmonious music.

Shutting this box as well, Aelita frowned. These were strange gifts. Maybe they had come with some instructions, which she had left in her drawer? Checking , she rummaged about for a minute until she found the lost scrap of paper.

"Days nine and ten," it read, "Sorry for the delay. Open together!"

Raising an eyebrow, Aelita set the note down, and then did as it said, opening the two boxes at the same time. This time, the two different melodies came together, creating music that was, to Aelita, absolutely gorgeous. Resting her head in her arms she sighed, content to listen to the music for at least a few more minutes before she left.

Whoever it was leaving her all of these wonderful gifts, Aelita really hoped she would get to thank them.


	10. On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

**And now it's day eleven! One more day to go guys! This one's a little short today, but tomorrow's should make up for it. Happy Christmas eve everyone! Enjoy :)**

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"One more day," Aelita said as she placed a bow atop her last gift. Smiling, she looked down at the small pile of gifts that surrounded her. She was currently at Yumi's house, finishing the gift wrapping that their chatter had distracted them from a few days previous.

"Are you excited?" Yumi asked her friend as she too finished the last of her gifts.

"About what?" Aelita asked. Yumi rolled her eyes.

"Tomorrow," she said. "And your secret admirer."

"What does he have to do with it?" Aelita asked, confused. Yumi laughed.

"He's been giving you a gift every day right?" Yumi asked, "And he's been using the Twelve Days of Christmas as his guide."

"So?"

"So," Yumi said, "tomorrow will be day twelve. I bet that's when he'll reveal himself to you."

"Do you think it will be during our gift exchange?" Aelita asked. Yumi shrugged.

"If it' one of the boys, then I think so."

Aelita nodded, humming thoughtfully. "Hey Yumi?" she said after a moment, "who do you think it is?"

"That's leaving you these gifts?" Yumi asked. Aelita nodded. "I don't know. I would have thought it was Jeremy at first, but I know that you guys decided you made better friends than a couple, right?"

"Yes, we did," Aelita said with a nod.

"Right," Yumi said. "Besides, have you seen how he's been staring at that new girl in science class? He's head over heels." Aelita laughed.

"You're right," she said. "But what about the other two?"

"Ulrich and Odd?"

"Yes. I know Ulrich isn't the one, because I ran into him gift shopping for you. He was trying to find the perfect gift."

"He's so sweet," Yumi said with a laugh. "Although maybe a little clueless. But if Jeremy isn't the one, and Ulrich's more concerned about me, that leaves…"

"Odd," both girls said in unison. They then burst into laughter. Aelita because she couldn't picture Odd leaving her all of these sweet gifts, Yumi because she knew it was Odd and that Aelita had no idea about it. Once the two girls' laughter subsided Aelita glanced towards the clock.

"Is it really that late?" she gasped, eyes wide. "I need to get back before curfew!"

"Oh, you're right," Yumi said, helping Aelita gather up her gifts and stuff them into bags to carry them home in. "Do you want me to walk with you back to the school?"

"No, I think I've got it," Aelita said, "You walked with me last time."

"Alright," Yumi said. "If you're sure."

The two girls made their way together down the stairs to Yumi's living room, where they said their goodbyes, and then Aelita was out the door and on her way.

Her walk back to the school was uneventful and she made it back just in time, Jim letting her slip in before he locked up the gate for the night. Aelita assumed the Christmas spirit must have been getting the gym couch, he didn't say a thing about her almost late arrival.

Once back in her room Aelita set her bags down beside her bed, sighing contentedly as she stretched her arms out. She then slipped out of her coat and walked over to her wardrobe to go hang it up. When she pulled the doors open however she was stopped short by the long, thin, gold wrapped gift sitting atop her clothes, waiting for her. Depositing her coat onto her computer chair, Aelita lifted the gift out of the wardrobe. Attached to it was a note- "Day eleven- you know the drill!"

Grinning, Aelita tore away the paper to expose her gift, a brightly polished silver flute. To Aelita this gift served not only as a representative of part of a song, but also proof that her gift giver knew her well.

There were only three boys who knew she wanted to learn to play the flute.


	11. On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

**Aaaand since it's midnight, time for day twelve! Though I haven't had time to respond to all of my reviews I want you all to know that I love each and every one of them, and would totally frame them on my wall if I thought I had the room for it. Thank you all so much, you've made this story totally worth it!**

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Aelita didn't think Christmas day could have turned out any better if she had planned each little moment herself. It had just been that perfect.

Everyone had woken up that morning excited, all of them doing last minute checks on their gifts and finding the various snack foods each had hidden around their room. Once Yumi was finished celebrating with her family everyone gathered their things and converged on Odd and Ulrich's room. Bag of chips were ripped open and cookies were tossed about, while all of the gifts were tossed into a heap in the middle of the floor. One at a time someone would pull a gift from the pile and tear into it.

Yumi squealed happily when she opened Odd's gift, pulling out the bracelet and gushing over it before quickly clasping it onto her wrist. Odd immediately fell in love with the new sketchbook Aelita had purchased for him, and laughed when he opened his gift from Ulrich to find the brunet had gotten him a dog toy. Aelita couldn't thank Jeremy enough for the leather bound journal he'd got her, and the second she'd opened the pink scarf from Yumi it was wrapped snuggly about her neck. And though he thought he should have been disappointed, Jeremy couldn't help but burst out laughing as he opened his third and then fourth new red sweater.

"You're a tough one to shop for Einstein," Odd told him as he opened his gift from the blonde-a new virtual pet, accompanied by a note that this one not be named after a school staff member.

"At least we got him something he'll use," Ulrich said as he unwrapped Odd's gift-a teddy bear with a red eye of Xana drawn in paint on its belly. Ulrich raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" Odd asked.

"It's adorable," Ulrich deadpanned while the others laughed around him. "Yumi," he said, setting down the new gift, "you're next."

"Okay," Yumi said, grinning as she took her turn pouncing on the gift pile. After a quick rummage through the dwindling packages she pulled one out-a little gold wrapped box. "To Yumi, from Ulrich," she read off the tag. Flashing the brunet a quick grin, Yumi tore the paper from her gift. She was left with a small black jewelry box in her hand. Opening it, she found a necklace nestled inside, hanging from which was charm made of silver and shaped like mistletoe set with glittering green and white stones.

"Oh Ulrich," Yumi said, staring down at her gift as she sat down on his bed beside him. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it," Ulrich said, unable to keep a grin from his face. Yumi grinned back.

"I love it," she said. She then leaned over giving the brunet a peck on the cheek. Ulrich blushed bright red as his friends laughed at his burning cheeks.

"Okay Odd," Ulrich said, leaning closer to Yumi. "You're turn."

"Nuh uh," Odd said as he reached down into the pile. "I have all my gifts. It's Aelita's turn!"

"Oh?" the pink haired girl said as Odd presented her with a gift wrapped in a silver bag. Smiling, Aelita took the gifts and gently removed it from the bag. Her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline as she pulled the tissue paper away from the gift.

For now sitting in her hands was a teddy bear, a toy drum in its paws. And on the drum was a note-

"Day twelve- Merry Christmas Aelita!"

Aelita stared at the gift for a few moments before looking up at Odd, the blonde standing in front of her with a grin on his face.

"So, that was you leaving all of those gifts!"

Odd's grin grew. "Did you like them?"

"I," Aelita started, then paused with a laugh. "They're amazing Odd."

"So, you don't mind that I snuck into your room to hide your gifts?" Odd asked curiously. Aelita laughed again.

"I guess I can let it slip this time," Aelita said with a smile. She then leaned forward and gave Odd a hug. "Thank you. The gifts were wonderful." Odd returned the hug, and then pulled back with a smile. The blonde would have been content to just sit and stare into Aelita's eyes at that point, however some giggling distracted him. Looking up, he found Ulrich standing on his bed, holding Yumi's new necklace over top Aelita and himself. Yumi and Jeremy laughed while Aelita looked up in confusion.

"Why is he…?" she started to ask, looking at Odd in confusion. Odd chuckled.

"It's mistletoe," he explained. "It's a tradition that when two people are under mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss."

"…really?" Aelita asked, her tone suspicious. Odd nodded.

"You don't have to," he added quickly. "It's just a silly tradi-"

Odd was promptly cut off by Aelita as she planted a quick kiss on his lips.

"Merry Christmas Odd," she said, blushing lightly. Odd simply stared for a few moments, dumbstruck, before the laughter and cheers from his friends brought him back to reality. He smiled, pulling Aelita back into a hug.

"Merry Christmas Princess."

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**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**


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